The Curse
by A Scaled View
Summary: "With seventeen turns of Fall, The splendor of Life shall end, In Hogwart's hidden Halls, A Curse thou cannot mend." Follows the plotline of Sleeping Beauty.


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Disclaimer: Nope, we don't own it. Not _Sleeping Beauty_, not Lily, not James, not Arabella, not Hogwarts. The only thing we do own is the poem. Yes, we wrote it, and we're very proud of it too.

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Summary: A Lily and James version of _Sleeping Beauty_, changed quite drastically to fit our desires. But, basically the same plotline, except we got rid of those fairies that give her the gift of beauty and whatnot. 

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Suggestion: And, to get the right effects for the poem, read in an English accent.

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Chapter One

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"With seventeen turns of Fall,

The splendor of life shall end

In Hogwart's hidden Halls

a Curse thou cannot mend

The light of Life shall fade,

A never-ending sleep

The essence of a lonely Maid

Shall only mem'ries keep

Upon the touch of a single spindle,

The lonely Maid shall die

Before it starts, life begins to dwindle

A Death only Love can defy."

The words were whispered, as if they belonged to the pleasant breezes that filled the sunlit, green garden. Anne Evans looked warily about her, for the words had held a hatred the fresh air did not. The slender lilies wavered slightly in the wind, and as Anne turned her attention back to the baby in her arms, stood still once more. 

The baby's large emerald eyes, as green as the surrounding garden, widened slightly as the wind ruffled the already vibrant red hair. Her eyes began to close, the red eyelashes like strands of blood on the pale skin. 

* * * * 

Professor Albus Dumbledore of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry sighed sadly, holding a crumpled piece of parchment in his hands and ignoring the owl pecking his arm for payment. Tom Riddle had struck again. His previous attacks had gone unnoticed by most of the wizarding world, including it's ministry. The assaults on muggles and muggle-born wizards were merely petty and spiteful, not harmful. But the multitude of harassments hinted at worse things to come, and despite the professor's pleas to the Minister of Magic, Tom Riddle roamed free.

Albus read through the brief note once again. He would have to warn the young child's parents of the curse placed on her. He wondered again of Riddle's motives in Lily Evan's pending death. 

"Not exactly a cheery birthday, Fawkes." He remarked turning to the bizarre bird next to his desk. "And once again, everyone refused to accept the fact that all I wanted was a nice pair of wool socks."

* * * *

Lily Evans was shy. So shy in fact, that she hadn't mustered up the courage to speak to any of the children in her first grade class. The teacher had harassed her continually to try to get her to speak, but never got a peep out of the child. Lily Evans sat quietly in the back of the room and stared out at the dirty, hand-printed, windows at the peaceful woods that surrounded the small school. At recess she walked to the fence and began digging a hole to get out of the place. 

At lunch, she sat alone and ate her peanut-butter-and-honey sandwich by herself. As the day went on, the children who had tried to befriend her, ignored her more and more. On the first day of school Lily Evans had successfully secluded herself from the others.

It wasn't as if she actually wanted to shelter herself from the attention of the other students, in fact, more than anything she wanted to join in the childish games. But ever since Professor Dumbledore had introduced himself to the Evans family, she had felt different and not wholly a part of what would be a regular childhood. 

She didn't want any of her classmates to know she was cursed, they would not have believed her, or possibly treated it as a game. Professor Dumbledore had also told her family that she was a witch, also meaning she was different from the other children. But most of all, she didn't want any friends or even acquaintances of hers to get hurt. She was cursed, and while she was not entirely sure what it meant, it was sure to be contagious and liable to hurt others. It was a bad, bad thing, and not to be spread around. 

By the second day of first grade, the teacher and the children had forgotten she existed. She seemed a part of the classroom, not anymore noticeable than a chair or desk. A permanent fixture to the class that walked and ate and learned as the children did. But not a person.

* * * *

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Five Years Later, Beginning the Journey to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

* * * *

"Come on, James!" Mrs. Rosalind Potter laughed at her awed son, who stood staring at the crowds of young witches and wizards gathered to take the journey to Hogwarts. The Hogwarts Express, a long sleek machine painted scarlet, and issuing clouds of great smoke and noise, whistled, signaling it's near departure. "James! You're going to miss the train!" A young boy with masses of messy black locks, and bespectacled, sparkling brown eyes, snapped out of his revere and ran to his mother's aid, hindering rather than helping her carry the heavy wooden trunk. The other students that had been milling around platform 9¾ began filing into the train, talking and laughing. Mrs. Potter tossed the heavy trunk onto the train with ease, and hugged her son goodbye. "Have fun, James," She whispered into his ear. "And don't forget to make good friends and cause a little trouble." James kissed his mother on her cheek and hopped onto the Hogwarts Express without looking back.

Once aboard the train, he dragged the large, wooden trunk to an compartment, went in, and sat down. Inside was a single girl, with intense red hair, curled up near the window, and engrossed with a book nearly as big as she was. 

"Hello," he said politely, and the girl looked up, looking scared and frightened. "I'm James Potter, and you are?" 

The girl stared, wide eyed and anxious. 

"Whatcha scared of?" James asked, turning his head to one side, looking very much like a bird. The girl smiled timidly.

"I'm Lily Evans." She whispered, and looked alarmed at her own voice.

"Nice to meet you, Lily." James replied, beginning to become bored with the girl already. "Mind if I leave my trunk here?" And without a look back, he left the compartment. Lily crumpled, the large eyes filling with tears. She would never find any friends. But then, she reminded herself, you would only endanger them. 

James wandered around for awhile, and began following the vibrations in the floor, until he came to a compartment where the door wobbled in it's frame from the rapid movement inside. He cautiously opened the door, and found complete chaos inside. A black haired boy sat pointing a wand at a slightly chubby boy, who quivered with fear. 

"I'm going to turn you into a...PUPPY BISCUIT!" He laughed as the chubby boy screamed. "I'm just _kidding_, Peter." 

"Hello." A thin, brown-haired boy said to James, looking cheerful. "And who would you be? I'm Remus Lupin, the mad boy is Sirius Black, and the other is Peter Pettigrew, by the way."

A school prefect entered peaked in the door, looking irritated at the racket Sirius was now creating from banging on the window at a cow in the passing countryside. 

"Excuse me--" The prefect interrupted, glowering angrily at Sirius, and glared at Peter who began joining Sirius at the window. The wild black-haired boy spun around, shooting red and gold sparks at the Prefect, then turned back to the window. The prefect scowled, but left the compartment. James smiled, and took a seat next to the brown haired boy.

"I'm James Potter."

Upon hearing of a rambunctious boy in Compartment Twelve from Cornelius Fudge, a sixth year prefect, Head Girl Arabella Figg rushed to the scene of the crime. According to Cornelius, the boy was destroying school property and threatening students. But, Cornelius tended to exaggerate, and ask people get things done for him. But Arabella discovered the boy to be on an extreme sugar high, and not causing any damage that she could see. She walked back to her friends, smiling at the first year's antics. Finding an empty compartment, she reached in, turning off the lights. A small gasp could be heard within, and Arabella quickly turned them back on. 

"Sorry, is someone in here?" She asked, and saw the wide, deer-like eyes of a first year. "Oops, sorry, hon. What's your name, dear?" She sat down next to the frightened girl, and felt the small body tense beside her. "I'm Arabella Figg, if you're wondering. Head Girl." She added proudly. The girl nodded. 

"Lily Evans." The young girl murmured. Arabella reminded her of a lioness, with masses of tawny hair, and brown, smiling eyes. 

"Don't be scared, love, I'm not going to bite you." Seeing the girl squish herself flat to the window, Arabella laughed again. The poor girl, too shy to make any friends. "Made any new friends yet?" To her surprise, Lily burst into tears. 

"N-n-no!" She sobbed, trying to hold back the tears, but only succeeding to choke. Arabella looked down at the child curled into a ball, and crying piteously. Arabella put her arm around the red-haired girl, who to her relief, leaned into the sisterly embrace. "If you like, I'll be your friend." Arabella whispered gently into Lily's ear. Startlingly green eyes met brown ones, looking hopeful. Then she shook her head. 

"Y-you can't. I'm...I'm..._cursed._" She said vehemence, causing Arabella to start. "W-when I was little, some bad wizard..." She covered her mouth as if trying to keep the words in.

"You can tell me, Lily." Arabella soothed. 

"The bad wizard made it so I'm..._cursed._" She stopped, looking at Arabella expectantly.

"Well, how are you cursed?" Arabella prodded. Lily looked dumbly at her.

"I'm _cursed._" 

"Do you know _how_ you're _cursed_" Arabella asked again. Lily obviously didn't know. "Well, when we get to the school, I'll ask Professor Dumbledore, okay? And now that you're my friend, Lily, you can meet some of my other friends."

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A/N: Well? This is just going to be a short little story, but there is a bit more to come. We're already writing Chapter Two, and we're going to start following the plot of the Disney _Sleeping Beauty_, not the one when she sleeps for 100 years. Well, PLEASE REVIEW!

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